If you own an outboard (hardware) compressor, there are several benefits to using light compression when tracking vocals. As discussed earlier, applying compression in stages sounds more natural and can help you avoid over-compression. Shying Away from Compression When Tracking This will also stop them from interfering with the lead vocal. Use a fast attack time to push the backing vocals further back in the mix. On backing vocals, you can use this to your advantage. This means that a fast attack time can put the vocal further back in the mix…which might be the exact opposite of what we want to achieve. Generally, an attack time above 2ms shouldn’t shave off too many transients, but be aware of this problem. But the transients have an important role-they help the vocal cut through the mix. Using a really fast attack time means the compressor will clamp down on the transient of the vocal. It shouldn’t be too noticeable, but when you mute the new channel you should hear the difference. You want the vocal to be at roughly the same level every word-don’t worry if it sounds over-compressed in solo. Drop the fader down (on the new channel) and bring the volume back up until you notice the vocal becoming louder. Apply heavy compression to this new channel. Send the vocal to a new aux bus, or duplicate the channel. This will pull the vocal forward again and bring up the quieter words. To counteract these problems, don’t just apply compression to the channel itself instead, use some subtle parallel compression. Only Applying Compression Directly to the ChannelĮven after automating and compressing the lead vocal, some words might still be too quiet. Plus, when you start adding effects (like delays and reverb), it can push the vocal further back in the mix. By shaving off the louder transients before they hit your slower compressor, it’s easier to control the tone and dynamics of the vocal. A faster compressor often works best before the slower, subtler compressor. Now, you can also experiment with the order of those two compressors to shape the tone.
Again, I aim for 2-3dB of gain reduction. Then, if you think the vocal needs more compression, which it probably will, load up a second compressor. This time use a faster attack time and higher threshold to catch the louder transients that slip through the first compressor. Instead of making one single compressor do all the heavy lifting, try two or more compressors throughout your plugin chain. One of your main goals when compressing vocals is to avoid over-compression. Even if you do automate the vocals, but then slam on a heavy compressor with 10dB+ of gain reduction, your vocals could still sound over-compressed. To avoid this, I recommend using automation. This will make them sound dull and lifeless. If you do try to achieve dynamic consistency with compression, it’s easy to over-compress the vocals.
Instead, you need to use volume or gain automation to manually ride the levels. You can’t achieve the level of consistency required for a modern sound with vocal compression alone. Every word needs to be loud and clear. Yet vocalists are highly dynamic, and a vocalist can go from a whisper to a shout in a matter of seconds. Relying on Compression Aloneįor modern sounding vocals, you need a crazy amount of dynamic consistency.
How to use my compressor in pro tools 12.6 pdf#
In this article, I’m going to reveal the five most common mistakes that I see people make when compressing vocals, and give you some advice on what to do instead.Īlso, be sure sure to grab the free PDF cheat sheet below which will help you get your vocal compression right every time… 1. This is the step where most people go wrong. When combined with automation, compression can make your vocals sound loud, punchy, and modern.īut get compression wrong, and you can quickly ruin your hard work. One of the most effective tools at your disposal for crafting consistent vocals is compression. For modern genres, they often need to be up front at all times.
In many styles of music, the vocals are the most important part of your mix.
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